The True Story Of The Lone Ranger's Inspiration, Bass Reeves

But Bass Reeves famously had an itchy trigger finger of his own, and in one notorious incident, it was the Marshal himself who was facing prison time for murder. As described in "Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves," which includes contemporary news reports on Reeves' near-downfall, the lawman

But Bass Reeves famously had an itchy trigger finger of his own, and in one notorious incident, it was the Marshal himself who was facing prison time for murder. As described in "Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves," which includes contemporary news reports on Reeves' near-downfall, the lawman was accused of shooting to death William Leach, a man who worked as a cook at the Marshal's camp, in 1884.

In January 1886, Reeves was arrested and put on trial for murder, with the newspapers announcing that the famous Marshal had killed his cook over a "trivial offense." For his part, Reeves claimed that he had discharged his firearm by accident while cleaning it. Reports of the killing and arrest tended to paint a less than flattering picture of Reeves, who was characterized in the papers as an unscrupulous and corrupt lawman who would extort money from those in his charge and make unwelcome advances to women he encountered. Reeves spent six months in jail as his trial played out, and in the end was able to convince the court of his innocence, and he returned to his career, his reputation further hardened.

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